firebase

Firebase - App success made simple

Overview

Firebase provides the tools and infrastructure you need to develop, grow, and earn money from your app. This package supports web (browser), mobile-web, and server (Node.js) clients.

For more information, visit:

• Firebase Realtime Database - The Firebase Realtime Database lets you store and query user data, and makes it available between users in realtime.
• Cloud Firestore - Cloud Firestore is a flexible, scalable database for mobile, web, and server development from Firebase and Google Cloud Platform.
• Firebase Storage - Firebase Storage lets you upload and store user generated content, such as files, and images.
• Firebase Cloud Messaging - Firebase Cloud Messaging is a cross-platform messaging solution that lets you reliably deliver messages at no cost.
• Firebase Authentication - Firebase helps you authenticate and manage users who access your application.
• Create and setup your account - Get started using Firebase for free.

This SDK is intended for end-user client access from environments such as the Web, mobile Web (e.g. React Native, Ionic), Node.js desktop (e.g. Electron), or IoT devices running Node.js. If you are instead interested in using a Node.js SDK which grants you admin access from a privileged environment (like a server), you should use the Firebase Admin Node.js SDK.

Get the code (browser)

We recommend only installing the features you need. The individually installable services are:

• firebase-app - The core firebase client (required).
• firebase-app-check - Firebase App Check (optional).
• firebase-analytics - Firebase Analytics (optional).
• firebase-auth - Firebase Authentication (optional).
• firebase-database - The Firebase Realtime Database (optional).
• firebase-firestore - Cloud Firestore (optional).
• firebase-storage - Firebase Storage (optional).
• firebase-messaging - Firebase Cloud Messaging (optional).
• firebase-functions - Firebase Cloud Functions (optional).
• firebase-remote-config - Firebase Remote Config (optional).
• firebase-performance - Firebase Performance (optional).

Script include

Include Firebase in your web application via <script> tags. Create a script tag for each of the individual services you use (include firebase-app first):

<!-- Always required. -->
<script src="https://www.gstatic.com/firebasejs/${FIREBASE_VERSION}/firebase-app.js"></script>
<!-- Include only the services you use, for example auth and database below. -->
<script src="https://www.gstatic.com/firebasejs/${FIREBASE_VERSION}/firebase-auth.js"></script>
<script src="https://www.gstatic.com/firebasejs/${FIREBASE_VERSION}/firebase-database.js"></script>
<!-- See above list for names of the other services. -->

<script>
  const app = firebase.initializeApp({
    apiKey: '<your-api-key>',
    authDomain: '<your-auth-domain>',
    databaseURL: '<your-database-url>',
    projectId: '<your-cloud-firestore-project>',
    storageBucket: '<your-storage-bucket>',
    messagingSenderId: '<your-sender-id>',
    appId: '<your-app-id>'
  });
  // ...
</script>

Note: To get a filled in version of the above code snippet, go to the Firebase console for your app and click on "Add Firebase to your web app".

Alternative - all-in-one import

This brings in all Firebase features. We recommend the method above to minimize download size by only including the scripts you need.

Include Firebase in your web application via a <script> tag:

<script src="https://www.gstatic.com/firebasejs/${JSCORE_VERSION}/firebase.js"></script>

<script>
  const app = firebase.initializeApp({ ... });
  // ...
</script>

NPM Bundler (Browserify, Webpack, Rollup, etc.)

Install the Firebase NPM module:

$ npm init
$ npm install --save firebase

In your code, you can import the services you use:

// This import loads the firebase namespace along with all its type information.
import firebase from 'firebase/app';

// These imports load individual services into the firebase namespace.
import 'firebase/auth';
import 'firebase/database';

Or if using require():

Use the .default import from firebase/app in order for typings to work correctly. See release notes for 8.0.0.

const firebase = require('firebase/app').default;
require('firebase/auth');
require('firebase/database');

const app = firebase.initializeApp({ ... });

The type information from the import statement will include all of the SDKs, not just the ones you have required, so you could get a runtime error if you reference a non-required service.

Alternative - all-in-one import

This brings in all Firebase features. We recommend the method above to minimize download size by only including the scripts you need.

// This import loads all Firebase services, whether used in your code or not.
import firebase from 'firebase';

Or with require():

// This import loads all Firebase services, whether used in your code or not.
const firebase = require('firebase').default;

Get the code (Node.js - server and command line)

NPM

While you can write entire Firebase applications without any backend code, many developers want to write server applications or command-line utilities using the Node.js JavaScript runtime.

You can use the same npm module to use Firebase in the Node.js runtime (on a server or running from the command line):

$ npm init
$ npm install --save firebase

In your code, you can access Firebase using:

const firebase = require('firebase/app').default;
require('firebase/auth');
require('firebase/database');
const app = firebase.initializeApp({ ... });
// ...

If you are using native ES6 module with --experimental-modules flag (or Node 12+) you should do:

// This import loads the firebase namespace.
import firebase from 'firebase/app';

// These imports load individual services into the firebase namespace.
import 'firebase/auth';
import 'firebase/database';

Known issue for typescript users with --experimental-modules: you have to set allowSyntheticDefaultImports to true in tsconfig.json to pass the type check. Use it with caution since it makes the assumption that all modules have a default export, which might not be the case for the other dependencies you have. And Your code will break if you try to import the default export from a module that doesn't have default export.

Firebase Cloud Messaging is not included in the server side Firebase npm module. Instead, you can use the Firebase Cloud Messaging Rest API.

API definition

If you use the Closure Compiler or compatible IDE, you can find API definitions for all the Firebase JavaScript API in the included /externs directory in this package:

externs/
  firebase-app-externs.js
  firebase-auth-externs.js
  firebase-database-externs.js
  firebase-firestore-externs.js
  firebase-storage-externs.js
  firebase-messaging-externs.js

Changelog

The Firebase changelog can be found at firebase.google.com.

Browser/environment compatibility

Please see Environment Support.

Similar packages

Other packages similar to firebase

parse-server

Parse Server is an open-source version of the Parse backend that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js. It offers many of the same features as Firebase, such as a real-time database, file storage, and user authentication. However, being open-source, it provides more flexibility and control over the backend infrastructure.

aws-amplify

AWS Amplify is a development platform for building secure, scalable mobile and web applications. It provides a similar range of services as Firebase, including authentication, data storage, and hosting. Amplify is tightly integrated with AWS services, which can be a benefit if you are already using AWS in your stack.

realm

Realm is a mobile database and synchronization platform that can be used for building offline-first, reactive mobile experiences. It offers real-time synchronization and data storage capabilities similar to Firebase's Realtime Database and Firestore. Realm is known for its smooth integration with mobile development and its fast performance on mobile devices.